Counties / Colorado / Bent County

Bent County, CO

FIPS 08011 · population 5,549 · outside every metro area

$119k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$119k
▲ 2.1% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$1,162
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,019
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

One annual series is unavailable
FHFA five-year cumulative+77.3%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+2.1%FHFA HPI2025n/a
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$147k
Surveyed gross rent$1,162
Rent burden 30%+58.9%
Median year built1959
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
13.8%vacant
2,174estimated housing units
Occupied tenure34.8% renter
owner 65.2%renter 34.8%
Structure mix81.7% single-family
Single-family 81.7%20+ units 0.9%Mobile home 9.9%Other 7.4%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs1,172▼ 0.5% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments94annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$926▼ 1.3% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities16.8% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.5%WEEKLY WAGE−1.3%Trade, transportation, and utilities16.8%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

The decision tension is documented price growth versus unproven property income and weakening covered-workplace measures. Cash-flow underwriters and buyers dependent on quick resale should be cautious; investigators with lease and parcel data have a defined diligence task. Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value was $118,730; it rose 2.12% year over year. FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI recorded 77.26% cumulative five-year appreciation. These measures support positive price direction but use distinct vintages and methods, so they are neither a blended growth rate nor a home value.

02Housing economics

Market rent is not published. The $1,019 HUD two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate; therefore gross yield cannot be calculated. The 0.35% effective property-tax rate and $517 median annual tax provide carrying-cost context for the price evidence, but neither establishes full recurring costs, including insurance, repairs, utilities, or vacancy.

03Demand & competition

On demand, QCEW’s 2025 annual average reports 1,172 covered jobs at county workplaces and a $926 average weekly wage; both were below their prior annual averages. This is not resident employment, unemployment, or a forecast. The record shows positive net migration, yet average AGI for movers in was $30,054 versus $41,389 for movers out, so household inflow does not establish equivalent purchasing power. Nonoccupant mortgage activity was one of 24 purchase mortgages, which measures financed purchases rather than all transactions or cash buyers.

04Risk & next checks

Risk limits are material. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled annual climate loss ratio is 0.16% of building value; it is not a parcel flood determination or an insurance quote. The record supplies no Realtor.com MLS listing price, active inventory, days on market, reduction share, or pending ratio, preventing assessment of visible supply, marketing time, concessions, or listing conversion. Next checks are property-specific flood and insurance records, lease comparables, operating statements, and MLS history; those are needed to test cash flow and exit liquidity.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Bent County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Las Animas city2.5KMcClave CDP128Hasty CDP125
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

3 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Las Animas cityIncorporated place
    2,540
  2. 02
    McClave CDPCensus-designated place
    128
  3. 03
    Hasty CDPCensus-designated place
    125

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.157% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.35%

$517 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+52

147 in · 95 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$11,335

$30,054 arriving · $41,389 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors4.2%

1 of 24 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Missing property-level rent, vacancy, and operating-cost evidence could materially change cash-flow viability.
  2. Missing MLS supply and marketing metrics leave resale liquidity and seller-concession conditions untested.
  3. County-level modeled flood loss may differ from a property's flood exposure, insurance terms, and repair needs.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can a gross yield be calculated?

No. Market rent is not published, and the HUD two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a payment standard rather than asking rent.

What does the QCEW employment figure measure?

It measures annual average covered jobs located at county workplaces, not resident employment, unemployment, or a forecast.

How much investor purchase-mortgage participation is recorded?

The record identifies one nonoccupant purchase mortgage among 24 total purchase mortgages.